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Blockbuster is a hollow VHS clamshell of its former glory. A cultural mainstay throughout the 90s, the home video rental empire reached its peak with over 9,000 locations in 2004. But thanks to the streaming revolution, the once-ubiquitous franchise has since shrunk to a single pilgrimage outpost in Bend, Oregon. However, Blockbuster’s legacy has lingered across the generations in the form of aesthetic odes to physical media, nostalgic callbacks, and even indie video games.
The rental chain is far from dead, thanks to one of its original clerks. In 2018, the unnamed “former Blockbuster employee and VHS collector” living in California decided to try their hand at reviving the spirit of the shared home movie experience in the form of Free Blockbuster. After painting an old Los Angeles Times newspaper dispenser with that instantly recognizable blue-and-yellow color scheme, the first stand debuted on February 27, 2019. About one month later, veteran screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker of Sleepy Hollow and Seven fame became the first person to return their checkouts to the same dispenser.
Similar to the popular Little Free Library trend, Free Blockbuster provides the shared space for anyone to share their extra physical media titles—be it VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray. While the franchise expansion is far less aggressive than its namesake, there are now dozens of official Free Blockbuster locations across the United States and even Canada.
Obtaining your own Free Blockbuster is cheaper than running your own business, but it’s still a bit of an investment. A repurposed and prepainted newspaper dispenser currently costs $420 on the official website, although it does come with free shipping. Of course, Free Blockbuster is more about a state of mind than anything else. With the right color scheme, plenty of cheaper containers can be easily converted into similar community video rental stands. If you do end up opening your own locale, be sure to contact Free Blockbuster so they can plop its address onto the shared map of miniature storefronts.
And while the actual Blockbuster’s trademark owners are aware of the situation, they don’t sound too concerned about “renting” their likeness.
“We received a letter from Blockbuster LLC and have responded by requesting a license to continue using their trademarks,” Free Blockbuster explained on their FAQ page.
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Andrew Paul is a staff writer for Popular Science.
